Page 96 of Heartless
“You never asked,” I answered honestly. “They live in Phoenix.”
“And what’s the drama there?”
“No drama. We’re just a regular family.” She looked at me with suspicion and I curled my index finger beckoning her. Madison came and stood between my legs. Her hands trusted in my hair and I buried my face in her chest. When I finally looked up to meet her eyes, I asked. “What’s bothering you?”
“Everything,” she said and I got the feeling that she wasn’t being overdramatic at all.
The fact that she was completely honest and open with me in that moment, made me clash my mouth down on hers with the intensity of a desperate man. Our bodies tangled together, the tension between us mounting with each passing second. Her hands caressed my back, pulling me closer still, as I deepened the kiss. She didn't resist, she needed this as much as I did. As our passion grew, I could feel her weakness against me, and my grip on her waist tightened. The hotel room spun around us, and the only thing that mattered was the heat between our bodies.
We finally pulled away from each other and looked deep into each other's eyes.
“That helped,” Madison said. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.”
A few minutes later we were out the door and into the gardens of The Gem. I could see the lobby through the floor to ceiling windows. Melany was behind the reception desk. One of the bartenders was talking to one of the housekeepers, who was pretending to dust the countertop while actually flirting with him.
The moment was perfect.
A few steps before we entered the lobby, I took Madison’s hand in mine, expecting a violent reaction, but it didn’t come. She didn’t pull away, nor did she try to go back to The Pink Diamond. She just looked down at our hands, then up at me and offered me a knowing smile.
“Ripping the bandaid off, are we?”
“Thought it might be best.”
We stepped into the lobby and all eyes fell on us, then our joined hands.
“Good evening, Mr. Wilson,” Melany said politely. “Miss Hartley.”
I nodded while Madison looked straight ahead and ignored them all.
We had a great night out and when we entered The Pink Diamond three hours later, I kicked the door shut behind us, lifted Madison up, to which she replied with a squeal, and I carried her to the bedroom.
Chapter Thirty-Two
Madison
Walking into Clem’s house, I could sense a weird smell I couldn’t quite place.
“Hi,” a squeaky voice of a woman I didn’t know greeted me. “Everyone’s in the backyard. Do you need directions?”
Sadly, I did. I had been in California for six months now and that was the first time I visited my sister. So I nodded and the funny-sounding lady led me through the living room towards the kitchen.
“You can leave your present here,” she pointed to a table already covered with gifts.
I did as she instructed and placed a finger under my nose as if it could save me from the stench. “What is that smell?”
“The goats,” the woman said with an adoring voice. “And the pig.”
“Excuse me?”
“It’s a farm themed party!”
We reached the back door and indeed. There was a huge sign that said Petting Zoo right in front of a low, white picket fence behind which three goats roamed freely. Nearby, a potbellied pig snuffled lazily in the straw, my mother right next to it. Clucking hens wandered about, occasionally pecking at the ground.
And the guests? Apparently there was a dress code I wasn’t aware of, because almost everyone came dressed as a farmer. Plaid shirts, overalls, and straw hats. I spotted my brother, who had a handkerchief tied around his neck.
An oink that came from the pig startled my mother and I couldn’t help but laugh. Her outfit didn’t scream farmer, but someone had made her replace her heels with a pair of rubber boots. Something I might as well do, because there was no way in hell I would be cleaning goat shit from my designer shoes.
